FAR Research project The loss of talent: A threat for audit quality

Isabella Grabner*, Judith Künneke, Frank Moers

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalSpecial issueAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The main priority of the audit industry is to maintain and improve audit quality. While audit quality has been an important topic in both accounting academia and practice, there is still a lack of understanding of what drives audit quality. Given that people are the most valuable asset an audit firm has, we focus on examining the labor inputs as a driver of audit quality. Specifically, we argue that a key threat for audit quality that so far has been largely neglected is the loss of talent across the hierarchy. A well-known problem for audit firms is that they invest enormous resources in new professionals only to have many with talent leave (Patten, 1995; Vera-Muñoz, Ho & Chow, 2006; ACCA & ACRA, 2012). A recent survey by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants finds that only about 38% are satisfied with their career and only 35% plan to stay beyond three years, with no significant differences across Big 4 and midtier firms (ACCA and ACRA, 2012).
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)268-272
Number of pages5
JournalMaandblad voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie
Volume91
Issue number9/10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

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